Case Study: Fender identifies and engages new audiences with Crimson Hexagon

How Fender Identifies and Engages New Audiences

Fender, the iconic maker of guitars and amplifiers, moved from a product-first sales model to a data-driven marketing approach and faced the challenge of understanding who its fans really are, expanding into new audiences, and protecting brand reputation on social media. Their core audience skewed heavily male, so they needed to uncover where and how to engage underserved segments—especially female guitarists—while also monitoring potential crises.

By using Crimson Hexagon social analytics, Fender audited audience engagement, learned which content resonated (authentic, lifestyle-focused posts), discovered a sizable female electric‑guitar audience overlooked by traditional retail, and tracked sentiment during a logo misuse incident. Those insights informed targeted actions—a boosted Nik West video, the #MyFleaStyle contest and ongoing crisis monitoring—that increased engagement, supported highly effective campaigns and helped grow Fender’s social following by about 1 million fans in eight months.

Fender

BJ Carretta

VP of Digital Brand Media, Partnerships and Communications